Humanities and Social Sciences
2017; 5(2): 53-59
http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/hss
doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20170502.11
ISSN: 2330-8176 (Print); ISSN: 2330-8184 (Online)
Review Article
The Historiography and Values of Statue Construction:
Focus on Global Perspectives
Mulualem Daba Tola
Department Public Relation and Strategic Communication, College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita Sodo,
Ethiopia
Email address:
[email protected]
To cite this article:
Mulualem Daba Tola. The Historiography and Values of Statue Construction: Focus on Global Perspectives. Humanities and Social Sciences.
Vol. 5, No. 2, 2017, pp. 53-59. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20170502.11
Received: January 16, 2017; Accepted: February 29, 2017; Published: March 28, 2017
Abstract: Statues are an image or symbol which carries a dynamic site of meaning and these symbols are instruments of
expression, communication, knowledge and control. They have power to tell all aspects of the society. They serve as a time
capsule between the past, present and future. Statues also tell concrete evidence about the root identity of one nation. Hence,
statues are constructed in the different parts of the world for various purposes. For example, people constructed statues to
commemorate their patriots, heroes and heroines, to transmit mythical histories, to represent a nationhood, to preserve cultural
heritage, to beautify cities and to legitimize authority. For these and other reasons, the history and values of statue should be
clearly known. Accordingly, the main purpose of this paper is to describe the history of statue construction and its values for the
society in particular and country in general. To achieve this purpose, different documents written by several scholars of history,
geography, art, anthropology, and political sciences were reviewed. Using qualitative research design, discourse analysis is
employed as analytic tool. The reviewed materials are categorized into themes and discussed qualitatively. The result of the
review shows that the erected statues have their own history and have cultural, economical, aesthetic, political and religious
values.
Keywords: Aesthetic, Culture, Economical, Political, History, Statue, Representation
1. Introduction
Statue is sculpture that represents people or animal. The
word statue came from the Latin word ‘statua’ means image
and ‘status’ is standing for or position. Statue is an image
which is erected for the purpose of commemorating important
person, events or action of the past time (Bonţeanu, 2010; and
Turner, 2003). Thus, statue is bounded by historical
phenomenon and preserved for generations for the purpose of
commemoration.
However, the term ‘statue’ is mostly used interchangeably
with other words such as ‘monument,’ ‘monolith’ and
‘obelisk’. Even though the terms seem similar, they are
different in terms of their structure. The literal definition of
monolith is a large tall block of stone, particularly in ancient
times, used for religious purposes, while obelisk is a tall
pointed stone like a pillar built to remind people or an event
(Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, 2005).
Moreover, the term statue is usually included under the
sculpture and monument. In fact, the terms are synonyms
though they have technical differences. Literally, the term
sculpture comes from Latin ‘sculpere’, which means ‘to
carve’. Sculpture refers to three-dimensional art curving an
image of animal or human being. Similarly, the root word of
monument is from Latin word ‘monere’ meaning to remind
something which could be person, action or event and the term
‘monumentum’ shows memorial structure, statue, or tomb.
Monument also defined as an object of special historical
interest such as prehistoric fortifications and remains of old
buildings and bridges often preserved by official bodies
(Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, 2005; and Bonţeanu,
2010).
The conceptual explication of statue is more tied with its
purpose of construction than its literal definition. Statues are
54
Mulualem Daba Tola:
The Historiography and Values of Statue Construction: Focus on Global Perspectives
basically constructed across the globe for the purpose of
commemoration or remembrance. The logical question here is
what is commemorated, when it is commemorated and the
importance of these commemorations should be clarified. As
USIP (United States Institute of Peace) (2007:2),
“Commemoration is a process that satisfies the desire to honor
those who suffered or died during the conflict and as a means
to examine the past and address contemporary issues. It can
either promote social recovery after violent conflict ends or
crystallize a sense of victimization, injustice, discrimination,
and the desire for revenge.” Thus, the basis for the
construction of several statues around the world is conflict/war.
These conflicts/wars could be internal or external. Internal
conflicts often erupt from lack of justice, equality, democracy,
socio-economic and political interests among different
political groups, classes, gender, ethnicity, religion and etc in
the same country. For instance, Kigali memorial monument
and museum center in Rwanda is constructed for the
commemoration of people who lost their life during the
genocide.
Statues are also constructed based on the incident of
external conflict, when a country or a nation struggles with
another country or nation. In this regard, in most African
countries statues are constructed to commemorate their heroic
leader or day they got independence from European colonial
powers. For instance, Voortrekker Monument in South Africa
(Grundlingh, 2001), Ugandans Independence Monument in
Uganda (Duerksen, 2012) and African Renaissance
Monument in Senegal (Ritter, 2011) and others were erected
to commemorate the black Africans’ struggle to overthrow
colonialism. The constructed statues based on conflict/ war,
(war memorial statue) are obviously erected to commemorate
either the act or the people. For instance, for an ‘act’ of
genocide, massacre, ethnic cleansing or terrorism, statues are
erected to harness memory of victims and to learn lessons
from the past act in an effort to avoid repeating it. At the same
time, statues are constructed to commemorate innocent people,
militants or gallant war leaders who lost their lives in a
conflict/war. In short, statues are material sites that depict an
image of people, animals or events that have values for the
society in particular and county in general. Therefore, this
paper critically reviews several literatures and analyze the
history and values of statue construction focusing on global
perspectives.
2. Rationale
Across the world, statues are erected to attain the societal
values. Statues have power to tell the all aspects of the society.
They serve as the material site between the past, present and
future. What statues symbolize are also concrete evidence and
assets of knowledge to know the root identity of one nation.
Of course, a range of papers are written on specific aspects of
statues. For instance, Whelan (2001) explores the origins of
projects to erect monuments to Kings William I (1701),
George I (1722), George II (1758) and Queen Victoria (1908)
and interprets the significance of the locations in which they
were unveiled to British monarchs in Dublin before and after
the achievement of political independence. Dresser (2007)
examines public monuments in London and their relationship
to slavery and abolition. Larsen (2013) also investigated
power, politics and public monuments as a history of cultural
artifacts used by the colonizer to dominate and subjugate the
colonized in Nairobi, Kenya. However, this monograph tries
to review and analyze the history and the values of statues
construction at different parts of the world. Therefore, this
article review will helps the readers to have the general
understanding of statues and their pivotal values.
3. Methodology
The main purpose of this paper is to describe when and how
the constructions of statue begin and its basic function for the
society. To achieve those objectives, several papers written by
geographers, historians, ethnographers, artists, political
experts on the history and value of statue are reviewed and
analyzed. To do this, qualitative research approach is
employed where discourse analysis is used as analytical tool
to analyze and discuss the historiography and values of statue
construction globally. The analyzed data also thematically
presented and conclusion is drawn from the discussion.
4. Discussion
Under this section, the gathered data are analyzed and
presented according to the objectives of this article. As it is
already mentioned, this paper reviews the historical
background of statue construction and their values across the
globe. Therefore, the historiography of statue construction
first discussed and then their values are thematically presented
in the following sections.
4.1. The Historiography of Statue Erection
There is no exact and explicit period where and when statue
construction began. But, as statue is a freestanding sculpture,
the history of statue construction is highly intertwined with the
history of sculptural fine arts (Honour, 1982). The chronology
of sculptural fine arts began from prehistoric sculpture period
around 35,000 BC in the form of carvings of birds and animals
and passed through different eras. In the classical antiquity
period (400BC -1100 CE) sculptural art of different societies
in the world, like the metallic sculpture of Celtics’ and
Romanians, were highly shown. Then, in the Gothic era
(1150-1300), especially sculptures of God and even the figure
of pope and archbishops were curved for religious purposes.
From the beginning of Renaissance period to the first half of
the twenty century, however, sculptures were curved to
entertain various ideologies. For instance, a number of statues
like the African Renaissance Monument (2010) in Senegal,
and other several statues in different African countries are
erected to depict the socio- political and cultural artifacts of
their nation (Harrt, 1989; and Jonson, 1966).
Basically, the history of statue construction can be seen
from three major historical eras: The Antiquity, Middle Ages,
Humanities and Social Sciences 2017; 5(2): 53-59
and Modern Era. In the period of antiquity around 30,000 to
40,000 BC, statue of Lion-man, Ivory carvings of Mammoth,
Lion, and Horse were predominantly curved. For instance,
outstanding statues curved during this period are Vogelherd
Cave (33,000 BCE) the oldest known animal carving
(Mammoth) and Venus of Hohle Fels (38,000-33,000 BCE)
which called the Venus of Schelklingen also the oldest known
carving of a human figure in the antiquity period
(Encyclopedia of World Art History, 1983; and Encyclopedia
of Art, 2008). Hence, estimation could be taken that the
history of statue construction began in this period. Then after,
statues in the form of a cult image were constructed in ancient
Egypt, Greece and Roma. For instance, ancient Egyptians
curved an image of their kings on a pyramid. Similarly,
Romans erected the statue of Queen of Diana in this antiquity
era (Stevenson and Kelly, 1998; and Harrt, 1989).
Contrary to the antiquity period, the construction of statues
reduced in the middle ages. This is due to the mistrust of the
Orthodox Church in Rome particularly the art of statue
construction for worshipping idols. However, the Byzantine
(eastern Roman) art of curving statue was shown until the fall
of Constantinople. In this period, the statue of different
empress and emperor were curved. For instance, the statue of
Justinian in Byzantine (6th C) was constructed and stood until
the fall of Constantinople in the 15th C (Honour, 1982;
Stevenson and Kelly, 1998; Encyclopedia of World Art
History et.al, 1983).
In the modern era, the construction of statue took a different
turn exhibiting different ideological manifestations like
realism, naturalism and others. Statues different famous
individuals and ideologies also began to be depicted through
statues. Hence, the construction of statues shifted from direct
representation of a physical body to the representation of
abstract ideologies. As Whelan (2001) notes, the
representation of idea in the statue form as ‘Statuemania’
peaked between 1870-1914 throughout Europe and North
America and attained a social and political role. The intense
nationalism of these years gave rise to widespread and
sustained attempts to commemorate national histories through
statues. Since the 20thC, various messages are communicated
through statues. Their function and design also become
complex and abstract than the previous eras (Bonteanu, 2010).
Hence, statues are begun to entertain various societal values in
the modern era.
4.2. The Values of Statue
There are several reasons that societies often erect statues.
Societies have used monuments to represent or symbolize
both material sites and ideas or concepts. As material sites,
they serve as a rallying point for shared common memory and
identity and, hence, they are used as a collective remembrance.
On the other hand, as idea signifiers, they are used to
immortalize an intended concept or ideology (Osborne, 2001).
Stressing this, Choudhury and Armstrong (2006:45) states:
The monuments are highly symbolic and ideological
[representations] that define a world in social, cultural, and
political terms. They have the power to create and define the
55
public sphere, community, and identity. The monumental
landscape is a world of the past but also the tension of the past
with the present. It is a world of gentility with clear boundaries,
from class divisions to cultural and societal values, between
what is real and what is not. These characteristics limit the
ways in which the people within the landscape may define
themselves, interrelate, express themselves, the power they
may claim, and the boundaries they must break to escape these
restrictions.
Statue play indispensable role through representing the
history, culture, socio- political system of the society. They
function as gathering place to strengthen the society’s
cohesion. This paper tries to discuses the major values of
statue across the globe in the following sub-sections.
4.2.1. Religious Value
Statues have a religious value in the society. The
construction of statue was begun in the antiquity period
primarily for spiritual activities. People have been curving
statues as replica of their God/goddess or/and angels for
worship. For instance, in most Asian countries, statue of
Buddha for Buddhism and statue of Indiana goddess for
Hinduism were highly worshipped among the believers.
Statues as supportive tool for religious activity began to be
used in the ancient civilization of Egypt, Greek, Mesopotamia,
Indus valley, and China (Jonson, 1966; Kleesing 2003; Henig
et.al, 1983). Statues are still serving as symbol of religion in
the modern period. For instance, the statue of Christ the
Redeemer which is constructed 1926 – 1931 in Rio de Janeiro
is one of iconic statues of Brazil that symbolizes Christianity.
Even though statues are erected for the fulfillment of
religious practices, the way they serve the religion dogma
differ in terms of the kind of religion and the way the
worshipping process takes place. For instance, around 15th C
and 16th C in ancient Greece, worshippers dedicated statues as
votive offering called ‘anathemata’ and as decorative
materials of religious area. On the other hand, in ancient Roma,
statues were curved to represent their gods believing that the
statue has guardian spirit that protects their home and family
(Kleesing, 2003; and Henig, 1983). Thus, Statues are serving
the religious functions in two ways. First, statue is used as
symbol that represents the religion. In this regard, they are
taken as the replica of their God/ Angle. For instance, the
statue of Christ the Redeemer (1926 – 1931) in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil; the statue of Cristo della Minerva (1512) in Rome,
Italy; the Divine Savior of the World monument (1942) in El
Salvador; Christ of the Ozarks statue (1966) Arkansas, USA;
and the statue of Christ of Vũng Tàu (1993) in Vietnam are
some of the statue of Jesus Christ which are serving as symbol
of Christianity at different parts of the world. Besides, Tian
Tan Buddha Statue (1993) in Hong Kong; Ushiku Daibutsu
Buddha statue (1995) located in the city of Ushiku, Japan;
Hussain Sagar Buddha Statue (1992) located in the city of
Hyderabad, India are the most famous Buddha statues serving
as symbol of Buddhism (Hartt, 1989).
Secondly, the religion followers’ use has used statue as
votive offering for their gods. However, in this case, the size of
56
Mulualem Daba Tola:
The Historiography and Values of Statue Construction: Focus on Global Perspectives
the statue was smaller than the normal size of a freestanding
statue. In Africa, such small size statues were considered to
have a link to witchcraft. Different kinds of terrifying animal
statues including mask, and triptych sculpture has used as
representation of supernatural powers mostly the bad that
could harm the members of the society. Besides, the statues of
religious leaders are constructed to commemorate their
contribution and dedication for the religion. For instance,
statue of Pope John Paul II in Rome, statue of Archbishop
Fulton Sheen of Dublin, the statues of Archbishop Makarios
III in Cyprus, Ireland are an exemplary statues for the
followers of the religion. Sometimes such statues are also used
as a gathering place for the followers to worship or celebrate
different religious ritual (Kleesing, 2003; Hartt, 1989; Willett,
et.al, 1985). Therefore, since ancient period statue are curved
in different form and size to attain the religious purpose. They
used as the symbol of the religion to support the dogma and
constructed to create cohesion among the followers.
4.2.2. Cultural Value
Architecture is the physical representation of cultural
symbols. Among architectural arts, statues play a pivotal role
in depicting cultural values of the society. As the word ‘culture’
is broad and multifaceted, it encompasses various elements. It
includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, laws, custom, and
habits of the specific society (Quinn, 2006; Abulnour, 2013;
Grundlingh, et.al, 2001). Hence, statues are taken as cultural
materials which represent any of those complex constituent
elements of culture
Statues as one elements of cultural heritage, they have
power to connect the past generation to the present generation.
They create sense of ‘we-ness’ among the people who share
similar background. The way one society behaves,
communicates, and involves in different ritual ceremonies and
commemorations depends on cultural identity of that society.
So, statues have power to tell the culture of the society. For
instance, statue of Buddha found across the world depict the
clothing style of Buddhism followers. Artists mold statues in
way the society can easily make relation to what the statue
represents. The society easily makes attachment and gives
interpretation to the representation of the statue when it has
great attachment with the society’s culture. With this regard,
any statue erected for different purposes in the specific society
implicitly or explicitly depicts at least one cultural aspects of
that society. In addition, statues are purposely constructed in
order to represent the culture of the nation or ethnic group. For
instance, more than 80 ethnic groups are found in Ethiopia.
These ethnic groups have their own culture of clothing,
marriage, grief and etc. As a result, different statues that depict
their unique culture have constructed at their area.
Particularly, in the 21st C when modernity is challenging
and reducing the social cohesion of specific society sharing
similar culture, statues play pivotal role in protecting ones
cultural identity from risk. They are means of asserting group
values, expressing identity and restoring dignity and
self-esteem. They are central to cultural identity and crucial
for awareness and development of one’s identity and transfer
the cultural practices to the next generation. Stressing this,
Lynch (1972) and Hein (2011) states culture sites like statues
are important aspects of one’s cultural identity. Such sites are
the legacy of the past, where we now live, and what is
transferred to the following generation. Statues as one kind of
cultural heritage evoke specific kinds of meanings and serve
as spatial coordinates of identity. They have relationship and
depict the custom, belief, and rituals of the specific society.
Due to this, organizations like UNESCO (United Nations
Educational and Scientific and Cultural organization) and
ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites)
provide fund for different countries to preserve statues/
monuments for the generation to come (Choudhury and
Armstrong, 2006 and Nypan, 2003). (Vale, 2008; Kenan, 2010;
Torre, et.al, 2002).
Therefore, statues as one of cultural values, they represent
society’s way life. Culture can give people a connection to
certain social values, beliefs, religions and customs. It allows
them to identify with others of similar mindsets and
backgrounds. Statues as a part of cultural heritage, they create
a sense of unity and belongingness within a group and allows
us to better understand previous generations and the history of
where we come from.
4.2.3. Economic Value
Monuments as one of tourism attraction sites are at the
forefront for the economic development of a country. Most of
historical statues are considered as tourist sites and are visited
by many local and international visitors. Tourists are often
charged for admission to visit these monuments. Of course,
the tourism sector is now one of the world’s largest industries
and one of its fastest growing economic sectors. For many
countries tourism is seen as a main instrument for regional
development, as it stimulates new economic activities. It may
have a positive economic impact on the balance of payments,
on employment, on gross income and production. As United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2013:3-4)
states,
“The tourism sector’s potential to stimulate and facilitate
growth and development in the manufacturing, construction
and transport sectors …... The sector’s direct effects on the
demand for manufactured products, ranging from simple
products such as bed linens, towels, soap and furniture, to
high-tech or capital intensive manufactured products that the
construction and transport industries need in order to provide
high quality and competitive tourism service…... The
expansion of the sector often boosts demand for the
construction of tourism facilities such as hotels, ports, roads,
and modern airport facilities and the provision of vehicles and
other means of transport to tourist sites. This, in turn,
generates multiplier effects along the value chain and in
sectors as diverse as mining, energy, water supply, and the
manufacture of products with higher knowledge content, such
as inputs into the construction and transport sectors. Further,
the construction of transport infrastructure benefits not only
tourism but also facilitates trade. In countries where tourist
sites are located in remote areas, the construction of a
Humanities and Social Sciences 2017; 5(2): 53-59
transport network could have a beneficial impact on rural
development.”
Many developing countries consider tourism to be
important for economic progress and poverty reduction.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2013)
see the importance of tourism sites through global and
national perspectives. Tourism generated 5% of global gross
domestics (GDP) and 6-7% creates job opportunity all over
the world in 2011. Around one billion tourists also travelled
internationally in 2012. With regard to national perspective,
these tourist sites have direct contribution to GDP,
employment, income and foreign exchange earnings more in
developing countries that are largely dependent on tourism.
Today, developing countries account for over 45 per cent of
world tourism arrivals and more than 35% of international
tourism receipts.
Among the tourism sites, statues play vital role to the
economy of one country due to such sites are the nodal points
of tourist travel, both local and foreign. They are powerful
sites that could depict the civilization of one society. Thus,
statues are visited by tourists to understand and even amazed
on various aspects of society they represent. However, the
constructions of some statues have an adverse effect on the
economic development of the country. Since their
construction is highly interwoven with gaining and
legitimizing a political power, political leaders spent a lot of
money to construct monuments for political consumption. For
instance, in Africa, the renaissance monument in Dakar,
Senegal cost 27 million dollar. Despite the fact that the
monument serve as a symbol of national pride for the
Senegalese, many objected because it failed to take into
account the grinding poverty in the country (Ritter, 2011).
What is more, such kinds of expensive monuments are often
displaced, ignored or destroyed during political shift. As a
result, a huge expense incurred constructing such monument
often ends up as sheer wastage. In short, monuments as a
tourist sites are becoming one of the economic determinants in
the twenty first century. Particularly, statues that have
historically grounded narratives are usually visited by tourists
and become the economic source of the country.
4.2.4. Aesthetic Value
The term Aesthetics is fluid and there is no universally
accepted definition and the way different artistic scholars look
into aesthetic value is different. As Cole (2009:9) contends,
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy which concerns itself
with the nature of beauty and its relation to the perceiver or
beholder, especially as applied to the fine arts…. This indicated
that while beauty is the quality of a given work or form felt by
the beholder in viewing it, aesthetics is the organization of
concepts and ideas relating to this quality of beauty.
Since aesthetics is all about beauty, the term beauty itself is
complex and subjective. The perception people hold about
beauty depends on the concept they have either it is natural or
artificial. As the saying ‘beauty is in the eyes of beholder’,
whether that beauty is physical or thought, the way we look
into the aesthetic value of something is different.
57
The aesthetic value of statue can be seen from Artists and
the society’s perspectives. The artist’s perspective is highly
focuses on the artistic/ dramatic ways of constructing and
understanding the symbolism of statues. Artists could
construct statue for art sake. As Amir, Zahra and Parisa (2015),
the aesthetic value of statues particularly, statues that are
included under dramatic (Artistic) types of statues are abstract
and all people might not understand the symbolism of the
statue. Such statues may not have always historically
grounded narratives about the society. Due to this, artistic
statues are not frequently seen in the streets of cities. They are
mostly found in the museums.
On the other hand, there are statues constructed based on
the historical incidents or narratives of the society. They are
erected to immortalize different historical events and to
commemorate an influential person of specific society.
Beyond their representations of the society’s culture, history,
religion and socio political, they simultaneously have
aesthetic values (Cole, 2009 and Torre, 2002). In this regard,
aesthetic values of statue refer to the visual qualities of the
statue that contributes in the process of beautifying the
environment for the wellbeing and good life of people. They
are valuable sites for the sensory experience and they often
become recreational centers. For instance, statue of liberty is
one of the world’s most recognizable monuments that beautify
USA.
In some cases, there is a push- pull factor between the sites
of monument and urbanization. The aesthetic quality of
several statues, obelisk, and other old edifies sites attract
people. Consequently, different infrastructural activities such
as road, electricity, hotels, hospitals and etc are constructed
around these sites. In short, monuments have great aesthetic
values for one country.
4.2.5. Political Value
Politics is one aspects of human activity. It is interwoven
with culture, economics, aesthetics, religion and other societal
values of the society. In this regard, statues have a long history
in the political arena. In the era of kingdoms, the image of
Kings and Queens were constructed at the gate of their palaces.
Similarly, in the monarchial period, statues of
emperors/empress were curved in different parts of the world.
However, from 19th C onwards, statues were often designed
and reconstructed to convey historically grounded power and
different current political ideologies. Artists use their art of
making statue to reinforce the primacy of contemporary
political power. Even though the construction of monuments
often claimed for remembering the past, implicitly they are a
means of cultivating popular support and making power
concrete in the political landscape (Harrt, 1989; Bonteanu,
2010; Wusten, 2012; Whelan, 2001; Larsen, et.al, 2013).
Political actors give high attention for the construction of
statues that have great political narratives. Their constructions are
contingent upon the current political system and they are used as
nexus between political ideology and political actors. For
instance, the statues of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin were
constructed across different countries which had ties with Soviet
58
Mulualem Daba Tola:
The Historiography and Values of Statue Construction: Focus on Global Perspectives
Russia. They are an intentional product of legitimizing political
power and state institutions to build a collective political identity
(Leib, 2002; Neiven, 2008; Guava, et.al, 2011).
Statues are used in political discourse in two ways. First, they
are intentionally constructed to instill the political ideology of
the political actors and legitimize the authority so that they get
support and acceptance from the public. This is due to statues
have power to legitimize the politician’s claims on power. They
declare publicly which groups and histories the official sphere
recognizes as central to the state’s identity. They reveal the
state’s level of inclusiveness, not simply by designating who
belongs to and in the state, but who may legitimately aspire to
political power. The iconography of statues exposes how class,
‘race’, and gender differences are negotiated in public space
(Forest and Johnson, 2001 and Leib, 2002).
Second, old monuments which were erected for
representing the nation’s history, civilization or war leaders
are removed/ displaced or their normative narratives are
counter narrated according to the current political ideology. In
this process, monuments are regarded as the place for political
contestation among different political actors. Forest and
Johnson (2010: 2-4) also contend that, The physical
transformation of places of memory reflects the struggle
among political actors for the symbolic capital embodied in
and represented by these sites. By co-opting, creating, altering,
contesting, ignoring, or removing particular monuments,
political actors engage in a symbolic dialogue with each other
and with the public in an attempt to gain symbolic capital that is, prestige, legitimacy, and influence derived from being
associated with status-bearing ideas and figures. Through this
process, political leaders and interest groups attempt to define
the historical figures that become official heroes and establish
the historical incidents that frame state identities. Viewed in
this way, monuments represent weapons in the political battle
for hearts and mind... manipulating such monuments can be
especially politically contentious, reflecting and providing
potent sources of symbolic capital.
This shows that statues are erected for political power
contestation. Public statues which are erected for the public
serve as an important source for unraveling political shift. For
instance, in Kenya, Nairobi, the statue of King George V was
removed and replaced by the statue of Kenya’s first president
Jomo Kenyatta (Larsen, 2013). Similarly, in Ethiopia when
the Derg regime replaced the imperial monarchy, several
statues constructed during the period of imperial monarchy
were dismantled and replaced by new that manifest the
political ideology of socialism. Again, when the EPRDF came
to power, the statue of Lenin and Marx which are the
iconography of socialism were removed. As Leib (2002:290)
also states, “Public monuments, the symbolism of the
monuments and the landscapes in which they are situated is
not static and is always open to debate, redefinition and
change. These political conflicts over how to memorialize the
past have more to do with the struggle for power in the present
than with commemorating the past”.
Statues are not used only to legitimize the authority and
concrete the power, but they are also used to resist the regimes
or challenge the authority. In the post-colonial era, different
statues were often erected for their revolutionary hero and
thereby objectify the ideas of resistance or struggle over
colonization. For instance, the statues of Nelson Mandela are
constructed at different cities in South Africa. Among of
which at the capital Johannesburg, the statue Nelson Mandela
was erected in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of South
Africa’s first democratic election in February 2004. The statue
symbolizes that the Mandel’s heroic journey to build today’s
democratic South Africa. However, in the multi-ethnic nation
where different ethnic groups are contesting for political
power, the members of political parties or ethnic groups are
engaged in symbolic dialogue through either protesting the
constructed monument or erecting new statues (Whelan, 2002;
Leib, 2002; Wusten, et.al, 2012)
5. Conclusions
Statue is a three dimension image that is constructed mainly to
commemorate or remember a person or important event, or
which has become important to a social group as a part of their
remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or as an
example of historic architecture. It is difficult to tell where and
when the construction of statue/monuments begun on this globe.
However, the history of statue construction can be seen in
relation with the history of sculptural fine arts which is estimated
around 35,000 BC in the form of carvings of birds and animals.
Since then across the world statues are curved in different design
for various purposes. But, the history of statue construction can
be seen from three major historical eras: The antiquity, middle
ages, and modern era. At these eras, statues were constructed to
attain various purposes. Basically, statues have religious, cultural,
aesthetic, economic and political values across the globe. They
are constructed as fulfillment of religion practices though the way
they serve the religious dogma differ in terms of the kind of
religion and the way the worshipping process takes place. They
are also erected to show the society’s cultural manifestations.
Statues are central to cultural identity and crucial for awareness
and development of one’s identity and transfer the cultural
practices to the next generation. In addition, statues play a pivotal
role in beautifying the environment as they often become a
recreation center and contribute on the economy of the country.
They are one of smoke less industry that attracts a lot of tourists.
Moreover, statues have political values. They are erected to
commemorate revolutionary heroes and leaders who fight for the
freedom and independence the country. Besides, statues are
constructed by political actors to legitimize their authority and
build a collective political identity.
References
[1]
Abulnour M. H. (2013). Protecting the Egyptian Monuments
Fundamentals of Proficiency. Alexandria University. Alexandria
Engineering Journal. Architecture and Environmental Design
Department, Faculty of Engineering, Arab Academy for Science
and Technology, Egypt. Retrieved on 12 March 2014 from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8601382.stm. on 3 April, 2010
Humanities and Social Sciences 2017; 5(2): 53-59
[2]
Armstrong P and Choudhury B. (2006). Monument and
Architecture in Shaping Bangladeshi National Identity.
University of Sydney. Faculty of Architecture.
[3]
Bonţeanu T. (2010). Political Myths and Symbols in
Monumental Art in Central and South-Eastern Europe
1880-1918. (Unpublished PhD Abstract.) Babeş-Bolyai
University, Cluj-Napoca.
[4]
Cole M. (2009). The Socio-Economic and Aesthetic Values of
Street Sculptures in Kumasi. (Unpublished MA thesis.) Kwame
Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana,
Kumasi.
[5]
Duerksen M. (2012). Monumentalizing Africa’s Momentous
Decade: Building Monuments and a Nation in Uganda.
(Unpublished MA thesis.) University of Virginia.
[6]
Encyclopedia of Art. (2008). New York. McGraw-Hill
Company, Inc. retrieved on 25 January 2014 from
http://www.encyclopedia.com/
[7]
[8]
[9]
Encyclopedia of World Art History. (1983). New York.
McGraw-Hill Company, Inc. retrieved on 25 January 2014
from
www.worldcat.org/title/encyclopedia-of-art/oclc/53394465
Forest and Johnson. (2010). The Politics of Public Space: What
Can Political Science Contribute to the Study of Monuments?
Paper presented at Canadian Political Science Association;
Montreal.
Groundling, A. M. (2001). A cultural conundrum? Old
monuments and new regimes: The voortrekker monuments as
symbol of Afrikaner power in a post apartheid South Africa.
Radical History Review, Issue 81, fall 2001, pp. 95-112
Published by Duke University Press. Retrieved 13 july,2014
from
http:/re/muse.jhu.edu/journals/rhr/summary/v081/81.1grundlin
gh.html
[10] Guava, k. (2011). Monuments and Negotiations of Power in
Ghana. Museum Africa, Johannesburg. Retrieved July 15,
2014 from
sitemaker.umich.edu/politics.of.heritage/files/gavua_monume
nts.doc.
[11] Hartt, F. (1989). A History of Painting. Sculpture. Architecture.
New Jersey. Prentice-hall.
st
[12] Honour H. (1982). A World History of Art, (1 ed.). London.
Macmillan.
[13] Horby A. S. (1974). Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of
Current English. Oxford. Oxford University press.
[14] Jonson H. M. (1966). History of Art: A Survey of the Major
Visual Arts from the Dawn of History to the Present Day. New
Jersey. Prentice-hall.
[15] Kenan, R W. (2010). Collective Memory and How the Present
Shapes the Past: A Philadelphia Story about George
Washington and Slavery Marc Howard Ross. Montreal Canada.
Canadian Political Science Association Meeting, Concordia
University.
59
[16] Klessing M C. (2003). The Votive Statues of the Athenian
Acropolis. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
[17] Larsen L. (2013). Power, Politics and Public Monuments in
Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved on July10, 2014 from
http://www.opendemocracy.net
[18] Leib J. (2002). Separate Times, Shared Spaces: Arthur Ashe,
Monument Avenue and the Politics of Richmond, Virginia's
Symbolic Landscape. London. Sage publication.
[19] Niven B. (2008). War Memorials at the Intersection of Politics,
Culture and Memory. Journal of War and Culture Studies.
Nottingham Trent University.
[20] T. (2003). Cultural Heritage Monuments and Historic
Buildings as Value Generators in A Post-Industrial Economy.
With Emphasis On Exploring The Role Of The Sector As
Economic Driver. Norway, Directorate for Cultural Heritage.
[21] Osborne, S. B. (2001). Landscapes, memory, monuments, and
commemoration: Putting identity in its place. Retrieved on July
9, 2014 from www.metropolis.net
[22] Quin M. (2006). Localized Pasts and Presents: Critical
Viewpoints on the Making of County Mayo’s Commemorative
Heritages. (Unpublished MA thesis.) Galway-Mayo Institute
of Technology, Galway.
[23] Ritter J W. (2011). A National Symbol or a National
Frustration Academic, Artistic, and Political Perspectives of
the African Renaissance Monument. Independent Study Project
(ISP) Collection. Paper 1200. Retrived on 4 February 2014
from http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/1200
[24] Stevenson S and Kelly S. (1998). The Art and Architecture of
Ancient Egypt, (3rd ed). Yale University Press. Penguin.
[25] Torre M. (2002). Assessing the Values of Cultural Heritage.
Los Angeles. The Getty Conservation Institute.
[26] Turner, V. (2003). Symbolic Studies. Annual Review of
Anthropology, Vol. 4. (1975), pp. 145-161.
[27] USIP. (2007). The Urge to Remember the Role of Memorials in
Social Reconstruction and Transitional Justice. Stabilization
and Reconstruction Series No. 5. Washington, DC. Retrieved
on 8 April2014 from www.usip.org.
[28] Vale L. J. (2008). Architecture, power, and national identity.
London, New York, Routledge.
[29] Whelan, Y. (2001). The construction and destruction of a
colonial landscape: Monuments to British monarchs in Dublin
before and after independence. Journal of Historical
Geography, 28, 4 (2002) 508±533 doi:10.1006/jhge.2002.0441,
available online at http://www.idealibrary.com
[30] Willett F. (1985). African Art An Introduction. New York:
Thames and Hudson.
[31] Wusten, V. H. (2012). Symbols in political centers: Where they
are and what they mean. Retrieved on July 3, 2014 from
http://belgeo.revues.org/6110